The death toll from Hurricane Dennis rose dramatically on Tuesday with at least 40 reported dead in Haiti, 16 in Cuba and more bodies expected to be found. On Sunday, the storm hit the southern United States, where another five people were killed. Meanwhile, Cuban President Fidel Castro has refused aid from other countries.
Lauding President Thabo Mbeki’s drive for gender equality and South Africa’s women for their fight against HIV/Aids, United States First Lady Laura Bush said Africa’s progress is best measured in hope. Bush was speaking at a gathering at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Joy at the birth on Tuesday of another pair of panda twins in China quickly turned to sorrow following the announcement that the world’s oldest giant panda had died after suffering from eating difficulties. Thirty-six-year old Mei Mei, equivalent in age to a 108-year-old human, died at a zoo in southern China’s Guilin city.
Tuesday’s countrywide municipal workers’ pay protest was wrapped up by mid-afternoon with conflicting claims on the effectiveness of the action. The South African Local Government Association said the strike had minimal impact and it will bill participating unions for damage caused during marches.
Cape Town city centre’s station deck minibus taxi rank, which serves 1Â 200 vehicles, is a disaster waiting to happen, according to a senior transport manager. There are also more than 200 traders sharing the confined space of the deck, the committee of inquiry into violence in the Western Cape taxi industry heard on Tuesday.
Latvian police have detained a thief on a lonely beach who walked up to young women stark naked, scared them and then stole their personal belongings, police said on Tuesday. ”Two girls complained that they had been robbed on a beach by a naked man,” said Guntis Skride, spokesperson of Riga municipal police.
Combating organised crime and illegal migration were identified on Tuesday as two areas of potential cooperation between South Africa and Mexico. Organised crime is a challenge both countries face, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said in Pretoria after hosting his Mexican counterpart for political and economic talks.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Tuesday told his violence-weary nation to brace for even larger attacks as insurgents exact revenge on the government for its ”success” in rebuilding the country. At least seven Iraqis were killed in a new spate of attacks that followed a bloody sequence of days for the Iraqi security forces.
King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, refused to sign the country’s new Constitution and ordered Parliament on Tuesday to hold a joint session to reconsider sections on religion and taxing his family. The draft Constitution, adopted by Parliament last month, is the product of eight years of consultations.
Armed British police took up positions on Tuesday outside a house in Leeds, north-east England, scene of anti-terrorist raids earlier in the day. Officers were seen outside the property minutes after what was reported to be a controlled explosion, Britain’s domestic Press Association said.